I don't know about that. I have been in the gym for so long (about 3 decades now. LOL!), that I see all kinds. I don't advertise (once in awhile I will) that I am vegan, but I mostly advertise the label of Bodybuilder. Though I have backed off of that lately too, by wearing old worn out hoodies and baggy pants (actually I have dropped in bodyfat, so most of my pants are now baggy). Anyways, I see all kinds. I see the skinny teenager that is trying really hard to pack on the muscle, but loves to stay on the treadmill too long (loves his abs more than muscle is my guess). I see the guy who wants to build muscle and just yesterday came in and sat down on the lobby's couch and scarfed down a pepperoni and massive cheese pizza (I saw the oil ooze out down his chin - so gross to me) and tried to work out, but his body was so busy trying to digest it, that I think he got a tummy ache and left. It is not just the usual vegans who can't build muscle. . . . it takes alot of knowledge of one's own body and seeing what works and what doesn't. And dedication to that journey.

Wanted to post that on Sunday I took off on a trail jog in the morning with the temperature being in the high forties, almost 50 degree F. I did my usual 5 miles, and enjoyed myself so much, that I decided to go for the 10 miles that I use to do on Sunday during the summer (and I did it by just doing the loop again). Then I was coming to the end, and I thought to myself, "Hey, my legs don't hurt, I am not hungry. . yet, and my feet are still moving, and I saw the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii yesterday on TV (very inspirational to hear and see all the stories behind the participants), and you wanted to do a half marathon this year, and the weather probably will not be close to 50 again. . . so Go For It!" So I did. I did my own half marathon of 13.1 miles this past Sunday. It was awesome! So to my friend who said I only do races for the tshirts, I did it without the goal of a tshirt (my friend said the goal was warm weather this time! LOL! Such is life in Michigan). And to my husband who asked me as I came in, "Where have you been? (being that it took me over 3 hours to get done and walk back home) and I replied, "Oh, I just did a half marathon", in which he replied, "Oh, well congratulations!" I love how I can just take off for hours and hours and nobody worries about me. . .(I still have my phone on me, so if I do have an emergency I can call someone).OOOOOOhhhh! The sun just came out! Even though it is freezing out, I am getting psyched to go out for my 2 hour bike ride. Wonder if any massive dead trees will be laying over the trail today after our day and night of high winds (Michigan has been somewhat gray, windy and sometimes wet - with downed power lines all around). Saw one massive dead tree last week that was laying over the trail that was hollow inside, and the wind had twisted the trunk where it broke on the trail from the weight on either side. The twisted wood with the hollow inside made for a great piece of art! Plus I still remember the one that looked like a crocodile this past month.

There were about 6 trees across the trail after that storm. I had to stop at 3 of them, to pick up my bike and get over the huge tree trunks laying in the way (the other were 3 partially blocking the trail and I just had to maneuver carefully thru the branches).

Haven't been out on a bike ride in awhile now. My feet freeze to the point of frostbite almost when the temp is below freezing (32/0). But I have no problem jogging out on the trail. Did 6 miles today because I did the 3 mile loop twice (crushed stone trail) instead of taking the slippery iced asphalt 2 mile loop (part of the usual 5 mile loop).

Delts are on the menu for the gym tonight. My weights seem to be going up again. This week's plan of attack is a warm up set, and mid range 12-15 rep set, and then I do a heavy set that is either more weight than last time (if I did 8 solid reps last time, then the weight goes up) or I try to do more reps with the heavy weight of last time (like I tried a 4-6 rep range when I went for the heavy weight last time) to get to a solid 8 rep set.

The month is coming to an end, and I will be switching up my exercises for the bodypart I am doing for the day. I think I will take an exercise from last month's routine, and see if I can still do the heavy weight, or even pass it up (which is why I am switching up my routine, to get a more solid base from all angles being supported).

New supplement of the month is Acai berry in freeze-dried form (500 mg in a veg capsule) right before exercising. Seems to keep my stamina going alittle bit longer than the usual hour I give myself for working out. Still loving the Lipo6 Unlimited, but only 1 capsule in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night before my workout (doesn't keep me up all night - I am pretty fatigued by the time I take my shower at night after working out).

Still working on my diet to get the bodyfat down, but still have enough calories to not burn out during my exercising and repairing/recovery.

Leg day. No cardio this morning. Not even a nice 3 mile walk outside. The winds are gusting and it is now 18 degrees (F) out. The only thing is that the sun is out! Been grey for days now. Have to go and do some food shopping for the holiday today, so at least I can enjoy the sun in my warm car as I am driving to Whole Foods. And since it is Leg day, I will allow some calories over the usual amount, in which a Chipotle burrito for lunch will do the correct amount (this one Chipotle now has no bacon in its pinto beans! so it is even more exciting to get the usual black beans and half it up with the pinto beans! Yum!). I am always feeling lazy when I do not do my morning cardio. . . . the excitement of getting my blood pumping for the whole day, and the rush of endorphins (to go along with the caffeine in the Lipo6 Unlimited). . . My brain is saying that it is good that I rest this morning. I can feel the ligaments/tendons around the eye of my elbow hurting (side lateral dumbbell raises last night for Delts is the cause), my rhomboids are achy in the middle of my back from the night before Delts, and little aches here and there. It is good to rest up this morning.

Nice Leg Day. The weights went up, up, up! I was freaking out a little bit on the first exercise, which was Power Squats using the Smith Press Machine, and the 6 45's (270 lbs) for 10 reps were awesome! The last time I did it (last week) was 8 reps at 270 with a footnote in my notebook that my lower back and core had to be so tight otherwise I could feel the slightest misalignment with all that weight stacked on my spine as I lowered it down with my knees going sideways out. This time, I could feel the pressure on the top of my spine, but my core was tight without hesitation. Getting stronger. This morning my Legs were a little sore, but the real test will be tomorrow morning if I have a bout of DOMS. So not to jinx the DOMS, I just did my usual 5 mile trail jog, but walked it instead . . . with the snow falling again. At least there was no wind blowing in my face. A quiet Thanksgiving day at the gym I hope tonight as I do Biceps.

With more and more snow falling down, I think my days of biking on the trail has come to an end in Michigan. Thinking of just going in during the afternoon (when the spin room is empty) and hopping on a Spin bike again. Have to have some great music though, as it is SOOOOOOOOOO boring. The only smile that comes to mind when I think of Spinning is the sweat I fling all over - and hopefully lowering of the bodyfat measurement.

Biceps were awesome as the weights kept going up and up. Ended up with 10 reps of 50lbs of weight, plus the barbell (35lbs?), on the MaxRack (free motion with safety rails and hooks). Was not empty as the usual Bodybuilder group appeared at 9 PM (one of the BBers is dieting down, and I think his partner is too - at least they were supersetting it last night, and the partner appeared to be winded with fatigue setting in pretty fast - 1/2 hour into their workout). All guys, and they are definitely the usual gym guys - not putting away their weights (I had to go look for the 40lbs dumbbells that were under the Smith Press - ?) and leaving sweat pools. Glad Biceps for me requires no machines that need to be wiped down. Note: I always wipe down the machine's exposed upholstery BEFORE I workout on it, and possibly after it - if I am sweating and not wearing my sweat hugging hoodie, lol.

Today was a cold below 10 degree F this morning, but I was able to do my morning cardio jog of 6 miles (double gravel trail path loop of 3 miles again, as the 2 mile loop was snow covered with ice underneath).

Thought I would share what I ate today. Got up and did my usual supplements of Keto 7, ProStack, White Willow Bark, and Acetyl N-Carnitine. Then I went downstairs and made a vegan cheesecake (for the family to eat tonight), put it in the oven, then took my LipO6 Unlimited (only 1 capsule) and 500 mg of Acai Berry capsule. Got dressed for the jog, mixed BCAAs with Glu/Vitamin C and 2 oz of OJ, and swallowed it down. Out I went for an 1 hour and 14 minutes for the 6 miles. Then for my real breakfast, it was a water smoothie with 2 cups of baby spinach, 1 banana, and 1 scoop of Raw Protein Powder, and at the last minute I put in 1 tablespoon of goji berries (dried but reconstituted with water). I also have a tablespoon of Wheatgerm Oil just before I drink all of the smoothie (want the oil to be the last thing in my stomach, but it tastes so bad by itself that I leave just a little bit of smoothie left to help get the oil down).

So that is what I have had so far. Keeping the calories at 1500 for today (and yesterday), with a bump up to 2200 tomorrow. Tonight is Chest night. I think I get to do some new exercises for that bodypart because in my notebook the Chest page will be filled up already (I work the bodypart with the same exercise for 3 times, with the weights going up each time).

Off to do Chest. Was not in control of my diet this afternoon. Had the family over for a Thanksgiving feast, and ended up eating the apple pie (only 1 slice though) and cheesecake (one slice again), but I had 2 big slabs of the homemade seitan roast, smoothered in cranberry/orange relish. Yum! I will not beat myself up. I will just let today be my big calorie day instead of tomorrow. Plus I am going to put all those calories to use at the gym pushing the weights!

Chest weights did go up, but I felt sluggish doing the exercises - though no cramping as if I was having a hard time digesting the food.This next day, I did a slow 5 mile trail jog, though it was a balmy 30 degrees out!, but still was feeling fatigued (am I doing too much perhaps? overtraining? probably). I also decided to take a nice walk for 3 miles this afternoon - plus rake some leaves in the backyard for 20 minutes (even with gloves on, I could feel my palms getting raw). I also ate leftovers of mashed potatoes (made with EB and mock Sour Cream blended in with the Yukon Gold potatoes), slab of seitan with cranberry/orange relish, and I got a small 1/8 piece of apple pie (went back for a piece of cheesecake - but it was all gone! ah, my boys saved me with their eating it before me! I didn't even scold them. . .). So again, I felt a slight sluggishness as I worked out my Triceps tonight. And again the weights went up. I was trying to focus on the Tricep Pressdown with the V-bar as I attempted 160lbs (about 10+ lbs over my own weight) for 6 reps - the range of motion was pretty short, and my triceps were even quivering as I tried with all my might to push down further for a bigger ROM. . LOL. Don't care, I tried it. We shall see how it goes the next time I try that much weight. Did Dumbbell overhead Tricep Extension after that, and was able to get 10 reps with the 55 lbs dumbbell - rhomboids were acting fatigued and pinched as the weight came down behind my head with both hands on the dumbbell, and the elbows bent at the sides. Trying not to hit my head, so the angle might be somewhat different with the hands being so close together (one hand on one side and the other hand on the other side holding the dumbbell end in both hands). I was kind of feeling it the last time and was worried about it, but I figure it is a muscle that needs to be worked anyways, I just made sure I did not feel any intense pain in the delt mostly. Body dips after all that was a laugh. With my current weight, I was able to do an 8 rep set, but after that, I went back to Assisted Dips with 25lbs helping me only do two 10 rep sets. So done at that point, so I packed up and went home to my big bowl filled with cream of rice, protein powder, slivered almonds, and a couple of sour wild blueberries. Now if sleep would come, now that it is midnight (my only complaint is getting to sleep after working out at night).

Doing too much cardio. I read up on Dorian Yates training philosophy again (my idol when I was just starting out as a BBer - I love his basic approach - just lift progressively heavy), and saw that it was 6 weeks full on, and then 2-3 weeks active recovery. So it has been 6 weeks of me lifting progressively heavy, so yesterday for Back I just went to these ridiculously light weights and did a couple of 25 reps and some 15 reps sets. I just walked around and did all the usual exercises I like to do. There is one that I do not ever do: the 1-arm dumbbell row while bent over on a bench. I will try it next time, and see if there is anything why I never do those (like it is not worth it because of the way I have to be bent over and that takes energy away from the main exercise of pulling the weight up).He also advocates 30 minutes top for cardio. Oops. I love my 5 mile trail jogs in the morning and they go for an hour or just a little more (slow day or cold day with wind blasting in my face! LOL). I do keep my cardio seperate from the weight training, so in that way I am in accordance with him. And I eat to have a nice full store of glycogen in the morning for me to burn for my extended cardio. I shall deviate right there from him I guess (until the weather just makes it so unbearable to go out for a jog).

Also a newsflash on my life. I do not know if anyone knows that I have now four full grown children who are out and about in the world doing marvelous things (boasting parent I know). I do love being a personal trainer, but I am going to try my hand at what I wanted to be when I grew up: a researcher. So in January, I am off to IUPUI to take some courses, and then see if I am ready to pursue my journey into a PhD program in their Regenerative Biology Program. I am excited, and at the same time scared/anxious. Like I am doing a marathon for the first time - which is also on my list for next year (being that I did a half marathon on my own this year). I just smile at people who tell me that I shall be turning 50 in two months. So? LOL!

I spent the last two days doing pretty much just sleeping and studying. I went off all my supplements also, and felt the immediate withdrawl of energy. My body was telling me to chill and repair. I also binged on a whole box of Whole Foods Organic Dark Truffles. Took me the whole 2 days though (and maybe only 1/2 the box, but I found where my hubby had hidden them away from me, when I yelled at him to help me - though the top of the refrigerator is a place where a person of my shortness wouldn't normally look - but I was motivated on the second day to find it - felt like a kid at Christmas trying to find the presents throughout the closets in the house way before Santa comes. LOL). And yes, it is that time of the girlie calendar month - but nothing so far - just the need for extra calories in the form of chocolate. . .

Did a good Leg day yesterday, as the weights went up (ended up with 300lbs for 8 reps on the Smith Press for Power/Plie Squats, and 310lbs/10reps on the Leg Extension machine (got every little 5lbs add on weights to the machine's 285lbs whole stack), and I have taken up to eating coconut milk ice cream after a workout, followed by a protein shake made with water afterwards. That is how I am increasing my calories, well carb calories. I figure a safe place to increase calories (with foods that taste very sweet and have some sugar content) would be right after a grueling 1-2 hour workout at night (2 hours means that I got hook on watching some show from the elliptical's cable display (that apparently will keep going on even if you are not on it. LOL!) and some of my rest intervals are longer than usual (maybe that is why my weights are going up - longer rest time between warmup set, midrange set, and the heaviest set yet (pushing for PBs now). Then again it is not so grueling of a workout - except I did walk funny trying to get home that night - rubber noodle leg syndrome.

The next morning I just walked the 3 mile loop, and did not feel alot of DOMS. It feels tight right now before bed, and the Chest workout I did tonight pushed the weights up, up, and up. I am almost at the weights last year when I was pushing the weights hard when I had my partner Amy with me (ah, those were the days. . . nothing like muscle loving girls using the mojo to help squeak out 2 more reps in the heavy set).

Ok. 15 degrees F - Artic blast plowing thru the Midwest. I did my 5 mile trail run, but I had ice crystals forming on my hoodie, especially along the sleeves from the perspiration turning to ice. Too cold. It was outside my comfort zone (till my thighs went numb, then it was business as usual . . lol).Could have done more than 5 miles today I speculated. But my brain was mentally arguing that it was not a good idea to push the legs since it was only 2 days after doing them intensely and heavy. That and it was so darn cold. I ended my morning cardio session in 1 hr and 6 minutes today (5 minutes over the usual 1hr1min).Triceps tonight. Working them out doesn't excite me all that much. My goal is to keep increasing my body dips though. Which will be a balance as I eat more calories, gain more muscle mass (and possibly more bodyfat), and my body weight will get larger, which translates into harder dips. My usual rep set is a solid 6 and a short ROM for 2 more reps. Want to get to 12 reps solid.

Headed to the gym to do morning cardio on the Elliptical. 1 hour for 2 5K loop on the machine's island path program, at level 4 only. Kind of boring, but I was happy to see so many people at the gym on a Sunday morning. Even the usual run group was there on the treadmills (well, 4 of the girls that I know that run with the pack). So cold this morning, 12 degrees F. It did get up to 25 degrees by the afternoon, and I took off for the 3 mile loop walk only. Now it is night time, and I am getting ready to head out to the gym. I did not go yesterday to do Triceps, and Back is scheduled for tonight. I think I am going to do Back, and maybe combine Triceps and Biceps tomorrow night (as it is suppose to be only Bicep night). Made a vegan sausage with broccoli and mushroom pizza (gluten-free crust) for dinner tonight. It is still digesting as I can still feel it in my stomach. Hopefully it can process it out of there in the next 30 minutes so I can feel light when I do my pull-ups, LOL.

Next day morning and the thermometer said 27 degrees F! So I finally got my clothes all on, down 2 Lipo6 Unlimited and the Acai Berry extract, and off I went. First off, the wind is gusting up to 20 mph, but the trees around the trail kept it to a a minimum - except for one time about halfway thru, it just blasted into my frontside and I felt like a hand was blocking me from going forward - kind of surreal feeling. I did a summertime 10 mile (2 times the 5 mile combined loop), and was going for the half marathon 13 mile jog, but my tummy growled, a wind blasted me full force, and a couple of cars passed thru the crosswalk, and my mind said "Enough!" Now I am back, and my domo hoodie was drenched in sweat, but the additional underarmour underwear (that I "borrowed" from my husband - it was way back in his underwear drawer) that goes past my knees, kept my thighs/legs warmer than usual. Had my usual power greens, banana, goji berries, and raw protein powder, with warmed up coconut milk (unsweetened) shake, and now for a warm shower. Pretty good morning. Oh yeah, my Back has some DOMS from last night's workout already. I did try for a 200lb wide bar lat pulldown. I got 2 solid, laughed my way thru 2 short ROM pulldown reps, and then when I tried to pulldown anything more after that, I was able to make my face go red - while holding my breath because I lost all breath focus when I started laughing. Never attempted it before. Went back down to 180lbs and was able to do the solid 10 (+2 reps from last time) reps quite easily after that. I also did a 140lbs with the straight leg deadlift for 8 reps - that one was an ouchie because if my core was not tight for just a sec and I came up off alignment, I could see me hurting my lower back. But I did not, thankfully = kept focused that time - definitely no laughing on that one.